Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James started coverage on Southside Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Southside Bancshares from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Southside Bancshares Price Performance

Southside Bancshares stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 123,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,682. Southside Bancshares has a twelve month low of $25.30 and a twelve month high of $38.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $838.52 million, a P/E ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Southside Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.22%. Southside Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Institutional Trading of Southside Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Southside Bancshares by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,319,916 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,921,000 after buying an additional 49,565 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southside Bancshares by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 671,666 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,458,000 after buying an additional 3,097 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Southside Bancshares by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 538,985 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,118,000 after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southside Bancshares by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 511,741 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,253,000 after buying an additional 126,587 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Southside Bancshares by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 318,699 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,122,000 after acquiring an additional 17,564 shares during the period. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits.